Stop stoking public anger

Monday 23rd January, 2023

State Minister of Finance Ranjith Siyambalapitiya has, at a recent media briefing, endorsed Secretary to the Ministry of Finance Mahinda Siriwardena’s position that it is difficult to allocate funds for an election at this juncture, and political stability is a sine qua non for achieving economic recovery. But neither Siriwardena nor Siyambalapitiya grumbles about the country’s pecuniary woes where the government’s wasteful expenditure is concerned. There has been a huge public outcry against the mindless waste of people’s money on the upcoming Independence Day celebrations. Tanzania cancelled its Independence Day celebrations last month, and wisely utilised funds earmarked for them to develop schools. Why Sri Lanka cannot do likewise is the question.

It defies comprehension why the UNP-SLPP government cannot allocate about five or seven billion rupees for the local government elections. Sri Lankans find themselves in a situation where politicians are free to steal public funds, mismanage the economy, bankrupt the country and hold on to power by using economic difficulties they themselves create as an excuse for postponing elections indefinitely!

What the current rulers have done to the country can be considered the custodial rape of its economy and democracy, as it were, and if they are allowed to postpone elections on the pretext of saving funds and continue to be in power unchallenged, they will be emboldened to do more of what they have been doing. The victims of custodial rape must be separated from their abusers immediately, mustn’t they?

Ideally, there should be a parliamentary election, but given the present circumstances, at least, the overdue LG polls have to be held immediately for the people to exercise their franchise and knock some sense into the government.

What would Siriwardena and Siyambalapitiya say to the appointment of more ministers unnecessarily while the country is experiencing economic problems? The government has appointed Jeevan Thondaman a minister to secure his support for the UNP-SLPP combine at future elections. Pavithra Wanniarachchi, a staunch supporter of the Rajapaksa family, has also been rewarded with a ministerial post. The number of ministers is bound to increase.

The act of using the country’s economic woes to postpone elections and thereby enable the incumbent government responsible for economic crimes against the public to continue to savour power is like releasing criminals held on remand in prison on the grounds that the state is without funds to hold trials against them.

The government can raise billions of rupees overnight for elections if it increases taxes on tobacco and alcohol. If Siyambalapitiya and Siriwardena care to expedite the process of recovering losses the state coffers suffered due to the sugar tax scam to the tune of Rs. 16 billion—the Opposition insists that the amount is Rs. 35 billion—then there will be enough funds for at least two elections. Why haven’t they got cracking?

Meanwhile, trade unions are also demanding that the LG polls be held as scheduled. If they are actually concerned about the franchise of the public and are genuinely desirous of safeguarding it amidst the current crisis, and denying the government an opportunity to delay the polls on the pretext of cost cutting, they can help keep the costs of election low by asking their members on election duty to forgo part of their allowances for the sake of the country. Will they rise to the occasion?

There is a pressing need to tame the present regime, and make it responsive to public opinion. Political stability cannot be achieved by way of coercion and deception. It cannot survive without the legitimacy of the government in power. The present regime lacks legitimacy because it is doing exactly the opposite of what the SLPP undertook to do ahead of the 2019 presidential election and the 2020 parliamentary polls.

Election postponements always have disastrous consequences as we saw in the late 1980s, following the heavily-rigged 1982 referendum, which President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s uncle, the late President J. R. Jayewardene, held to extend the life of the eighth Parliament amidst protests from the Opposition and the public. If the Gotabaya Rajapaksa government had conducted the LG polls, early last year, the people would have given vent to their anger through the ballot without taking to the streets, and an electoral setback would have compelled that regime to make a course correction.

If anyone helps the current regime responsible for grave economic crimes give its victims—the public—the slip by postponing the LG polls on one pretext or another, he or she will be committing the same offence as those who manipulated the legal and judicial processes to enable notorious criminal, Kanjipani Imran, to make good his escape, recently.